I think most people know my story of how Mt Whitney helped me set a goal, one goal, and in reality, one first goal after cancer surgery and after a new hip.
I was 48 years old and I had made a goal to summit Mt Whitney while at a friends home celebrating the 4th of July, 2005. I had run marathons, including the Wild Wild West in Lone Pine, done a couple of triathlons, and just enjoyed running to keep myself in halfway good shape. I wasn't a gym rat, but did like to workout. Problem was, I had injured my hip years earlier and it was just about done for. At the time I made a decision to summit Mt Whitney, it was a huge goal, as I couldn't even walk 1/4 of a mile, and the pain was excruciating at times.... which of course was helped by Valium, Vicodin, and well, some alcohol to really deaden the pain. So, here I am, sitting next to a pool, talking with my friend (who had stopped telling me about his marathon adventures because he thought it would make me feel bad,) and I tell him.... We're summiting Whitney. He was so happy and we immediately started figuring out how to do it. First, I needed a new hip. Well, God has a way of changing your plans and less than a month later, melanoma visited me. Scary stuff, in light of the fact the first doctor said I'd be lucky to be here in 5 years! So, Whitney was on the back burner and now my goal was to live. I had surgery to remove my thumb as the melanoma was under the nail. I did chemo, ate organic, took supplements and overall took pretty good care of myself.
Problem was, I couldn't walk as my hip started getting worse. I talked to my oncologist and he told me to avoid any major surgery for approx three yeas as to not stress out my body.... so, I could plan for surgery, but not have it. With my inactivity and of course loving to eat, my weight had ballooned to 255 pounds and yea, I was FAT! But, Whitney was still on my mind.... just needed to get that darn hip fixed. Well, time passed and in reality, I was pretty miserable. I was fat, out of shape, couldn't workout and just plain wasn't happy. I couldn't wait until I could walk without pain again, just didn't know how it would all work. Well, I did lose a small amount of weight and got down to about 240 or so, but being as miserable as I was, just didn't care..... Though my business was going fairly well, my personal life really sucked and it seemed like the more energy I put into my relationship, the more it took. 5 teenagers were wearing me down fast. But, I was lucky that my girlfriend did support me through my cancer and my hip surgery... and I will always be thankful for that.
After about 2 1/2 years, I started looking for surgeons. I visited many from the Inland Empire to San Diego. I just interviewed them all until I felt comfortable with one, comfortable with a personality and a professionalism and of course had a great track record. One day I saw a youtube video of a surfer who had gotten a new hip. I visited that doctor and knew right away, this guy was the guy who was going to make me well. Surgery was set. I had my deductible met from two PetScans related to my melanoma and this wasn't going to break the bank. Problem was, my doctor liked riding bicycles. On my visit to the hospital for my hip replacement orientation, I heard a nurse say, "Oh no, should we tell them". I asked her what happened and she said the doctor had been in an accident on his bicycle and he broke his arm, with one of the bones actually coming out of his arm! With that, she said my surgery would be put off until NEXT YEAR. I said not a chance as my deductible had been met and asked who could do the surgery this year. She said, "well, maybe his partner, Dr Mc Bride, the guy he was racing when he crashed!!! So, off to Dr Mc Bride, date set and a new hip put in within weeks. Surgery was October 21, 2008.
I gotta tell you, for me, hip surgery is a blessing, a miracle, a gift from God. It's as if God put his hand on your hip and you can walk again. The first week was a walker and pretty embarrassing for a 48 year old. But then, crutches. I still remember walking around the block with crutches and no pain. I told everyone. I felt like I had already summitted a huge mountain. I went to the gym a few weeks later and rode the bike. Then I started the stairmaster. I also started walking more around the block and then the mountains.
I set a date for Whitney and got permits for my friend, his son, my stepkid and my girlfriend. Months later, I "thought" I was ready, only to find that the switchbacks were a bit harder than I thought. And my girlfriend gave up at Trail Camp. So, I really didn't have the mental frame of mind that day, which was the first Monday in September, 2009. BUT... when I got home, I wasn't happy I hadn't made it, so I went to San Jacinto the next weekend, then San Jacinto again two weeks later. All in all, I went above 10,000 feet 4 times in 6 weeks, including my failure on Whitney. Now, I thought I was ready. I called my friend DJ and he said, "lets' do it", though he had summited Whitney the month before. We picked a date to go, October 11th, 2009, less than a year from my hip replacement.
We summited Whitney on that day. I cried at the top. Since then I've summited with Gary and summited with a woman I met on the trail, a Sheriffs officer named Michelle. So, to answer the question, how many times have I summited? Three. Mt Whitney gave me a goal. My friends helped me accomplish it...... and one more thing. Remember when I was 255 and couldn't walk? Well, now I'm 186 and can tell people I've summited the highest mountain in the continental United States. I thank everyone on this site as well as the WPSMB for helping me achieve my goal. I will see some of you in a few weeks.
"Turtles, Frogs & other Environmental Sculpture"
